דָּבַק

Genesis 2:24 וְדָבַ֣ק and he cleaves

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

Here: 'And he clings'. The verb is used for things physically sticking together and for steadfast loyalty, as when Ruth clung to Naomi or Israel is told to cling to the LORD. It makes a pair with 'leaves': one tie loosens and a new one is held fast.

Genesis 19:19 תִּדְבָּקַ֥נִי it should cling to me

Your servant has indeed found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness by sparing my life. But I cannot run to the mountains; the disaster will overtake me, and I will die.

Genesis 31:23 וַיַּדְבֵּ֥ק and he overtook

So he took his relatives with him, pursued Jacob for seven days, and overtook him in the hill country of Gilead.

Genesis 34:3 וַתִּדְבַּ֣ק and it cleaved

And his soul was drawn to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young girl and spoke to her tenderly.

Numbers 36:7 יִדְבְּק֖וּ they will hold

No inheritance in Israel may be transferred from tribe to tribe, because each of the Israelites is to retain the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.

Numbers 36:9 יִדְבְּק֕וּ they will hold

No inheritance may be transferred from one tribe to another, for each tribe of Israel must retain its inheritance.”

Deuteronomy 10:20 תִדְבָּ֔ק you will cleave

You are to fear the LORD your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name.

Here: "You shall cling": stick to him like something glued on, the word used for a man joining his wife (Gen 2:24) and Ruth clinging to Naomi (Ruth 1:14). It describes loyalty that stays attached.

Deuteronomy 11:22 וּלְדָבְקָה־ and to cleave

For if you carefully keep all these commandments I am giving you to follow—to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him—

Here: "And to cling": the third phrase. It is a strong physical word for sticking fast, also used of a husband joined to his wife and of Ruth clinging to Naomi. It describes exclusive, unbreakable attachment.

Deuteronomy 13:4 תִדְבָּקֽוּן׃ you will cleave !

You are to follow the LORD your God and fear Him. Keep His commandments and listen to His voice; serve Him and hold fast to Him.

Here: 'You shall cling.' It means to stick close, the word used for a man joining his wife (Gen 2:24) and for Ruth clinging to Naomi (Ruth 1:14). The longer verb ending -ûn closes the series with weight.

Deuteronomy 13:17 יִדְבַּ֧ק it will cling

Nothing devoted to destruction shall cling to your hands, so that the LORD will turn from His fierce anger, grant you mercy, show you compassion, and multiply you as He swore to your fathers,

Here: 'Cling, stick fast.' The same verb was used a few verses earlier for Israel's loyalty: 'to Him you shall cling' (13:4). Here the plunder is pictured as something that wants to stick to the hand and has to be shaken off.

Deuteronomy 28:21 יַדְבֵּ֧ק he will make cling

The LORD will make the plague cling to you until He has exterminated you from the land that you are entering to possess.

Deuteronomy 28:60 וְדָבְק֖וּ and they will cling

He will afflict you again with all the diseases you dreaded in Egypt, and they will cling to you.

Deuteronomy 30:20 וּלְדָבְקָה־ and by cleaving

and that you may love the LORD your God, obey Him, and hold fast to Him. For He is your life, and He will prolong your life in the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Here: 'And by clinging'. A physical word for sticking close. Elsewhere it is used of a man to his wife (Gen 2:24) and of Ruth to Naomi (Ruth 1:14). Here it means tight, exclusive loyalty to YHWH, the opposite of drifting after other gods.

Joshua 22:5 וּלְדָבְקָה־ and to cleave

But be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Here: 'And to cling.' A physical word (to stick, adhere) for close loyalty. It is used of a husband to his wife (Genesis 2:24) and of Ruth to Naomi (Ruth 1:14).

Joshua 23:8 תִּדְבָּ֑קוּ you will cling

Instead, you shall hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day.

Here: A physical word for sticking to something, used here for exclusive, loyal attachment to a covenant lord. The form ('you shall cling') works as a firm instruction for the future, not a mild wish.

Joshua 23:12 וּדְבַקְתֶּם֙ and you will cling

For if you turn away and cling to the rest of these nations that remain among you, and if you intermarry and associate with them,

Here: "And you cling." The very verb used in v. 8 for clinging to the LORD. To cling to the nations is to transfer the loyalty that belonged to Israel's God.

Judges 18:22 וַיַּדְבִּ֖יקוּ and they overtook

After they were some distance from Micah’s house, the men in the houses near Micah’s house mobilized and overtook the Danites.

Judges 20:42 הִדְבִּיקָ֑תְהוּ it overtook him

So they fled before the men of Israel toward the wilderness, but the battle overtook them, and the men coming out of the cities struck them down there.

Judges 20:45 וַיַּדְבִּ֤יקוּ and they pursued closely

Then the Benjamites turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and Israel cut down 5,000 men on the roads. And they overtook them at Gidom and struck down 2,000 more.

Ruth 1:14 דָּ֥בְקָה she clung

Again they wept aloud, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.

Here: 'Clung.' It is physical (she held on to Naomi) and also the language of committed loyalty. The same verb describes a man joined to his wife (Genesis 2:24) and Israel holding fast to the LORD (Deuteronomy 10:20). The verb form gives a settled fact, or even a state: Ruth was holding on and would not let go.

Ruth 2:8 תִדְבָּקִ֖ין you will stay !

Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Do not go and glean in another field, and do not go away from this place, but stay here close to my servant girls.

Ruth 2:21 תִּדְבָּקִ֔ין you will stay !

Then Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also told me, ‘Stay with my young men until they have finished gathering all my harvest.’”

Ruth 2:23 וַתִּדְבַּ֞ק and she stayed

So Ruth stayed close to the servant girls of Boaz to glean grain until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

1 Samuel 14:22 וַֽיַּדְבְּק֥וּ and they pursued closely

When all the Israelites who had been hiding in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they also joined the battle in close pursuit.

1 Samuel 31:2 וַיַּדְבְּק֣וּ and they pursued closely

The Philistines hotly pursued Saul and his sons, and they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua.

2 Samuel 1:6 הִדְבִּקֻֽהוּ׃ they overtook him

“I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” he replied, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and the cavalry closing in on him.

2 Samuel 20:2 דָּבְק֣וּ they clung

So all the men of Israel deserted David to follow Sheba son of Bichri. But the men of Judah stayed by their king all the way from the Jordan to Jerusalem.

2 Samuel 23:10 וַתִּדְבַּ֤ק and it cleaved

but Eleazar stood his ground and struck the Philistines until his hand grew weary and stuck to his sword. The LORD brought about a great victory that day. Then the troops returned to him, but only to plunder the dead.

1 Kings 11:2 דָּבַ֥ק he cleaved

These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to these women in love.

Here: "Clung." The verb of Genesis 2:24 (a man clings to his wife) and of Deuteronomy's call to cling to Yahweh. Solomon gave these women the loyal attachment the covenant reserved for God.

2 Kings 3:3 דָּבֵ֑ק he clung

Nevertheless, he clung to the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them.

2 Kings 5:27 תִּֽדְבַּק־ it will cling

Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and your descendants forever!” And as Gehazi left his presence, he was leprous—as white as snow.

Here: "It will stick fast." The verb pictures something glued on that cannot be pulled off. It is the verb of the covenant curse in Deuteronomy 28:21 and 28:60, where the LORD makes plague and "the diseases of Egypt" cling to the disobedient. The form can be read as a prediction ("will cling") or as a decree ("let it cling").

2 Kings 18:6 וַיִּדְבַּק֙ and he clung

He remained faithful to the LORD and did not turn from following Him; he kept the commandments that the LORD had given Moses.

1 Chronicles 10:2 וַיַּדְבְּק֣וּ and they pursued closely

The Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua.

Job 19:20 דָּבְקָ֣ה it clings

My skin and flesh cling to my bones; I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.

Job 29:10 דָּבֵֽקָה׃ it stuck

The voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths.

Job 31:7 דָּ֣בַק it has stuck

If my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has followed my eyes, or if impurity has stuck to my hands,

Job 38:38 יְדֻבָּֽקוּ׃ they are joined together

when the dust hardens into a mass and the clods of earth stick together?

Job 41:17 יְדֻבָּ֑קוּ they are joined together

They are joined to one another; they clasp and cannot be separated.

Job 41:23 דָבֵ֑קוּ they cling

The folds of his flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable.

Psalm 22:15 מֻדְבָּ֣ק [has been] made to cling to

My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You lay me in the dust of death.

Here: A passive participle, 'made to stick / is stuck fast'. The tongue does not stick by itself: something has glued it in place. The verb is the same one used for a man 'cleaving' to his wife (Gen 2:24), but here it means being stuck against your will.

Psalm 44:25 דָּבְקָ֖ה it has clung

For our soul has sunk to the dust; our bodies cling to the earth.

Psalm 63:8 דָּבְקָ֣ה it clings

My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.

Here: Perfect tense: 'has clung / clings', a settled state, not a passing feeling. It is the word for things that stick together (skin to bone, a loincloth to the waist) and for loyal attachment to a person or to God.

Psalm 101:3 יִדְבַּ֣ק it will cling

I will set no worthless thing before my eyes. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.

Here: 'It will (not) cling'. The word is used for glue-like attachment and for loyal adherence (Gen 2:24; Ruth 1:14; Deut 10:20). Crookedness will not stick to the king and will not attach itself to his court as a loyal follower might.

Psalm 102:5 דָּבְקָ֥ה it clings

Through my loud groaning my skin hangs on my bones.

Psalm 119:25 דָּֽבְקָ֣ה it clings

My soul cleaves to the dust; revive me according to Your word.

Here: A perfect-form verb, feminine to agree with 'nefesh': 'it has stuck / it clings'. It describes a state already in place: the speaker's life is stuck fast to the ground. It is the opening word because every line of this stanza must begin with the letter dalet (ד).

Psalm 119:31 דָּבַ֥קְתִּי I have clung

I cling to Your testimonies, O LORD; let me not be put to shame.

Here: "I have clung / I cling." The past-tense form describes a grip the speaker took hold of and still holds. It is the first word of the line, and it begins with the letter dalet, as every verse in this eight-verse block (vv. 25–32) does. It also picks up v. 25, where his soul "clings to the dust."

Psalm 137:6 תִּדְבַּ֥ק־ may it cleave

May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not exalt Jerusalem as my greatest joy!

Here: A wish-form verb, 'may it stick.' This is the first half of a curse the speaker calls down on himself: his tongue glued in place so it cannot move.

Jeremiah 13:11 יִדְבַּ֨ק הִדְבַּ֣קְתִּי it clings, I have made cling

For just as a loincloth clings to a man’s waist, so I have made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to Me, declares the LORD, so that they might be My people for My renown and praise and glory. But they did not listen.

Jeremiah 42:16 יִדְבַּ֧ק it will pursue closely

then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow on your heels into Egypt, and you will die there.

Lamentations 4:4 דָּבַ֨ק it has cleaved

The nursing infant’s tongue clings in thirst to the roof of his mouth. Little children beg for bread, but no one gives them any.

Ezekiel 3:26 אַדְבִּ֣יק I will make stick

I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, and you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, though they are a rebellious house.

Here: A causative form of 'to cling, stick fast.' God is the one doing it. Ezekiel's silence is not his choice, not stage fright, and not sickness. God imposes it.

Ezekiel 29:4 וְהִדְבַּקְתִּ֥י תִּדְבָּֽק׃ and I will make cling, it will cling

But I will put hooks in your jaws and cause the fish of your streams to cling to your scales. I will haul you up out of your rivers, and all the fish of your streams will cling to your scales.